Rough Edge Phase
by notmargaret
Summary: Maddie had six months left to cash in her wish. In her long script she wrote one word down on her piece of paper-Happiness. That was all she had to say. Doctors found her cancer-free the day she wrote down her wish. Meaning it never came true. And it showed. Maddie forgot about her needs, her wants, and soon enough, her own happiness. She called it her "Rough Edge phase."
1. CAT Scans

"Hello, Ms. Bell," Clarence chirped from the hospital door, "are you ready for your next scan?" With a twinge of dissatisfaction, she rose from her bed and stretched. The pain she had was gone, her skin's brightness had returned too. The doctors had been worried about Maddie, no one had every recovered that quickly in their care. It couldn't be _that_ simple. She was a fighter, an 19 year old with a (slim) chance. At least that's what she told herself every morning in the mirror.  
>Maddie pulled on the cotton shorts and the old, nasty t-shirt that had been laying in a pile of unsorted clothes near the end of the bed. Slowly trekking behind the nurse, Maddie awaited her impending doom. She knew it was a <em>dead<em> end, she had been told many times.

"Oh, well. It was worth a shot."

"Not cancer free yet."

"Your health is improving."

She had these few phrases told to her almost everyday. Maddie had grown weary of the encouragement. While waiting for her scan, Clarence handed her a special slip of paper. He sat down next to her. "I promise things will get better, but for now, just to be safe, write down your wish for the foundation?" Maddie hadn't thought this far into the process. What did she want? Most of all?

Long hair?

A boyfriend?

An all expense paid trip?

Maybe even a shopping spree.

No, what the young fighter wanted was the same for every other young fighter. A chance at happiness. If that included being cancer free-great. If it did not-also fair. Maddie contemplated a date with Zayn Malik for a little while before finally jotting down HAPPINESS. It was a neat word written in the best cursive she could manage. She folded the paper and handed it back to the nurse, who then walked away, shaking his head sadly. An hour passed before the nurse called her name. She walked every so slowly into the room. A machine sat dead center behind a sheet of glass. Many times had she seen this contraption and she knew exactly how to maneuver it. She crawled onto the small bed thing and rested on her back. The scanner made a sound as it started up. She closed her eyes and imagined herself in space as if she were touring the galaxy next to Han Solo and Chewie aboard the Millennium Falcon. She smiled and imagined saving the world/galaxy aside the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers. Her dreams ended as the machine turned off and she rolled out of it. Standing, she caught the eye of her mother standing behind the glass, smiling ear-to-ear.

"Dr. Hoult has some news for you,kiddo!" Clarence escorted her out into the lobby. Maddie's mom, Dr. Hoult, and she adjourned in a large office.

"Maddie, will you be able to handle this?" He pushed the results in front of her across the table. Before laying a hand on it, Mrs. Bell swiped it off and had torn into it. She gasped reading aloud the large words in the center of the page.

CANCER FREE.


	2. New Apartment

"Box by box, honey." My mom chirped. "You don't need to stress your body out." We lifted two boxes up the narrow flight of stairs.

One, two, three.

One, two, three.

One, two, three.

My breathing became labored as I began to count to three. I heard my mom carrying on a conversation directed at me. I stopped at the top of the first set and regained my breath. My mother kept murmuring to herself about my new move, new job, new country. A different voice then joined hers. It sounded awkward and unamused with my mom's stories.

"My daughter is 20 years old and got a job that adults were fighting over," she boasted, "at the London Muesum in fact." The awkward voice chuckled like you would in any conversation that you want to get out of. I began my acsension up the stairs to my apartment. Two dark haired men were standing at their door speaking to mom. One was my height or a little over and the older-looking-one stood at about six foot. They nodded at me as I approached the door. "This is Maddie, my daughter. She'll be your neighbor, I assume?" Mom gestured at me. I unlocked the door and pushed the boxes through with my foot. They nodded.

"It was great meeting you guys." The shorter guy said. "Uh, we'll be seeing you later, I guess." I smiled a short smile and they left. My and I walked inside. The place was perfect: two bedrooms, a study, a lovely bathroom, a small kitchen, and even better, there was a huge living room. It was everything I had needed and wanted. An alarm sound went off as my mom looked to her phone. We both knew it was time to get her to the airport. She had work tomorrow-so did I.

"I don't have to leave, you know? I could stay here, help you with the unpacking. I'll call Drew." She started to dial her boss. I took the phone from her.

"There's no need for you to stay. I've got it taken care of, okay? I want to do this by myself. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance." She understood. "I'll be perfectly fine. I have my emergency numbers and oxygen, just in case something happens." My mom was just as upset as any mom would be after leaving their child in a foreign country. "You do know nothing_ is_ going to happen, right?"

"Deep down, I do. The rest of me just wants to bundle you up in a blanket and cuddle you all day." We hugged for a while. I had always felt safe with mom. She was the sword I used to fight my battle. Without her, I was small and unimportant. London was a new start, however, and she knew I could do it. I walked with her back to the cab and kissed her goodbye. "I'll call you when I get to where I need to be." With those words, I blew her a kiss and the cab drove off. I shut the door behind me and walked up stairs to my new home. As soon as I opened the first box my speakers came out. I plugged in my phone and let my music fill the empty upstairs.

"Ah fuck!" Someone out in the hall yelled. I looked at the clock and realised it had been an hour since I finished the living room up. I jump off the couch where I had been napping to check the source of the voice. On the groud was the shorter guy who looked as if he had tripped. "Are these yours?!' He asked.

"Yes. I am so sorry." I helped him to his feet. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yea, I'll be fine." I gathered all the garbage into a bag that I had stuffed in my back pocket. "Do you need any help?"

"No, I should be fine. Thank you though. Nice meeting you. Sorry again."

"Dan." I must have looked confused because he continued. "I'm Dan."

"I'm Maddie. It's nice to have met you Dan. Have a nice night." We smiled at each other. He went inside and I went down the stairs to the disposal.


	3. Neighbor

She was a bit odd, that was for sure. I watched her as she walked down the stairs. I shut the door behind me as I walked in. The coffee maker was on and a cup was set aside for me, meaning that Phil was around the apartment somewhere. Phil popped his head around the corner of the lounge. "Was that you cussing in the hall?"

"Yea, the new neighbor had her garabage outside and I tripped over it." I sat in my couch crease and placed my laptop on my lap. "She seems nice. And quiet."

"Well that's good, right? It means she won't be abnoxious." I nodded. "What's her name again? Maggie? Megan?"

"Maddie." I sipped at the coffee.

"Maybe we should invite her for drinks or dinner? I mean, she _is_ new to London. She new to England in general." Phil offered. "I think it's a good suggestion on my part." I rolled my eyes.

"How many people do you know that would willing hang out with us on a Saturday night? I counted. Like, five. Tops." Phil rolled his eyes.

"That isn't true. There's PJ and Chris and," he paused, "uh, there's..."

"Okay, you're right. I didn't count correctly. There are two people. Two, Phil. What makes you think that a pretty, sucessful, working girl is going to want to hangout and have drinks with us?"

"You think she's pretty?" Phil smiled. It was easy to notice him holding in a laugh.

"Well, yea, I guess." I felt my face get warm. Phil still stifling his laugh. "Look. It's not like I'm going to marry her tomorrow. It isn't a big deal. Okay?"

"Whatever you say. I'm inviting her over." Phil grabbed his notebook and pen from the side table. Mumbling what must have been the invitation, he yanked it from the spirals. "I'm going to put this on her door. You think she'll she it?" He walked away without my reply. I sighed and resumed browsing my Tumblr feed. I mean, Maddie was pretty and she seemed nice, dinner wouldn't be too bad, right? I shook the thought of embarrassing myself from my head. Phil opened the door. He was laughing. "See you tonight then." He shut the door behind him.

"Was that Maddie?" I asked. His face was noticably red when he waled back into the lounge. "What happened? What did she say?"

"As I was putting the note on her door, she was walking up the stairs. I must've looked super creepy." He sat down with his coffee once more. "Anyhow, she said yes."

"What time is all of this going down?"

"About seven? I told her to just knock when she's ready." I checked my clock. "Goddammit, Phil. It's half six! I still have to cook! Do we even have any drinks?"

"I'm not sure! I thought you went to get groceries?" I put my computer to the side of the couch and ran into the kitchen.

"Do I look like I did anything today?" Which was true. I had not changed out of my pajamas and my hair was a mess. "I went to get the mail from downstairs. That's it."

"Fine. I'll run and get some chicken and stuff." Phil huffed as he put on his coat. "Oh, hi." Phil said as he opened the door.

"Hey, I know I am super early, but I thought I would help you out some with dinner. I brought stuff." I had poked my head around the corner. "Hi, Dan!" She said, noticing my mop of dark hair.

"Hi, Maddie." My cheeks grew hot. "Come in?" Phil let her in.

_**This is going to be a nightmare. **_


End file.
